Mysticscaler

Join the discord: https://discord.gg/Wrn5DNvD

----

'Nina?'

The thought hit me before I even really processed who it was. Nina Shoka from my class. She was just walking along, probably listening to music, totally unaware that this car had lost control and was sliding right toward her.

I didn't think about it. Didn't weigh the pros and cons or consider my options. My legs just started moving.

I dropped my phone and sprinted toward her. The car was maybe three seconds away from hitting her when I slammed into her side, pushing her as hard as I could toward the sidewalk.

She went flying, landing hard on the concrete but definitely out of the car's path.

Me? Not so lucky.

The impact felt like getting hit by a train. One second I was pushing Nina to safety, the next I was flying through the air. Then I hit the ground and everything went wrong at once.

I couldn't move my legs. Couldn't really move much of anything, actually. There was this weird warm feeling spreading across my chest and stomach, and when I tried to breathe, it felt like drowning.

'Well, this sucks,' I thought, staring up at the sky. 'Guess that's what I get for being a hero.'

My vision started getting all swimmy and weird, but I could make out Nina crawling over to me. She had pulled out her earbuds and there were tears streaming down her face.

"Why did you do that?" she kept asking, over and over. "Why would you do that?"

I wanted to shrug, but my shoulders weren't really cooperating. It seemed pretty obvious to me - she was in trouble, so I helped. That's what you do, right? Nothing fancy about it.

She was talking to me, saying my name a lot. I didn't realize she even knew my name, to be honest. We had been in the same class for like three months and I don't think we had ever actually had a conversation.

"Kofi, stay with me, okay?" she was saying. "You're gonna be fine. The ambulance is coming."

My Romance Life System

An hour. A full sixty minutes in that plastic palace of anxiety, where the only entertainment was a motivational poster. By the clock on the wall, it was already six in the evening.

(Honestly, you'd think a place this depressing would at least offer better snacks. A kid could starve waiting for news.)

Finally, a door swung open, and out walked a man who looked like he ran on pure, unadulterated cynicism. Trailing behind him was the good nurse, the one who didn't look at you like you were an inconvenience.

The doctor's eyes, tired and buried in his chart, found Kofi.

Kofi shook his head, his hands clenching on the edge of the plastic chair.

"No. I just found her. At her house."

The doctor gave him a long, appraising look, then let out a sigh that sounded like it had been sitting in his lungs since medical school.

Worse Than He Thought